Work Readiness Skills
To answer the question “How can Rec2Tech transformations and municipal makerspaces develop career-readiness skills?”, participants iterated on the many ways that Rec2Tech can exemplify the best types of youth learning experiences and build on the broader workforce development agenda within communities. In particular, two topics rose to the top: Employer Engagement and Pathways to College and Career.
- Employer Engagement: Employers need to be brought to the table early and often in the development of makerspaces to create opportunities for employee/youth mentorship and to demonstrate the skills built there are valued in the modern workplace. Makerspace creators should join their local job advisory board or connect with the community college/public school career & technical education community. Furthermore, industry representatives should act as guest speakers or challenge youth to work on projects that tackle real-world problems. Early efforts at building work-ready skills often translate into more sophisticated programs such as those encouraging entrepreneurship and teaching youth how to create start-up enterprises.
- Pathways to College and Career: Makerspaces provide a tangible place to start youth on a pathway toward college or career and begin conversations with you about what they want to do (skills & competencies) versus what they want to be. Rec2Tech leaders need to be prepared with an elevator pitch to clearly state what is the “maker movement” and why should community stakeholders care about its potential to transform underutilized municipal assets. Digital badges were lauded for their potential to recognize learning and achievement beyond traditional classrooms with the caveat that much still needs to be done to make employers value badges in the marketplace. One example from Baltimore of assigning value to badges earned in a makerspace is giving youth who earned such badges preferential consideration for high-sought-after tech jobs in the city’s summer youth employment program.
Other key challenges noted in this area were the need for businesses to further develop an apprenticeship mindset in order to take advantage of the learning approach undertaken in many makerspaces, the need to assure a diversity in engaged employers to provide youth with role models from background similar to theirs, and the need to make the learning paths compelling and relevant to youth. Lastly, like many of the other groups, many participants noted to the substantial barriers to access and participation that arise from lack of ready transportation for many prospective youth.
See the rest of the Key Findings from the national Rec2Tech convening held on May 31, 2016.
